MOSCOW - It's starting to be a recurring theme. Center back Sari Morrison is charged with leading the Idaho defensive line, but she somehow keeps ending up in the thick of the scoring, as well.
The senior team captain nailed a 35-yard bomb of a goal to start the scoring and freshman Jill Flockhart single-handedly broke down the entire South Dakota (2-6-1) defense to finish things off in a 2-1 victory for Idaho (6-4) on Friday.
Idaho's 6-4 record marks its best 10-game start in school history, while the six wins match Idaho's victory total from the last two seasons, combined.
After a scoreless first half in which Idaho dominated possession but didn't finish things off in front of the goal, head coach Pete Showler challenged the team during the break to increase the intensity and put more pressure on the goal. It worked.
"The first half, it was a little bit of a stroll and we took too many touches on the ball," Showler said. "Second half, we came out with a lot more intensity and we dictated the play, and that's what we should be doing from the start."
Almost three minutes into the second period, freshman Chelsea Small dribbled down the left side, but couldn't get in any farther, so she dumped it back to Morrison, who took Showler's words to heart and fired off the equivalent of a soccer Hail Mary - closer to midfield than to the end line - and it slipped perfectly between the keeper's hand and the far corner of the goal.
"I wanted to score a real goal," Morrison, who has netted three penalty kicks this year, said. "I told everyone I was going to try to get a real one today. It was one of those shots where it hit just right."
Idaho's momentum continued to build, and the team kept steady pressure on the USD goal until, at the 69:57 mark, Flockhart took a pass from fellow frosh Megan Lopez, then moved forward into a one-vs-three situation. No big deal, as she evaded one tackle, slipped past the keeper, then evaded yet another tackle and casually tapped it in from one yard out.
For the second straight home game, Idaho's defense was a strong performer. After allowing just five shots on goal one week ago in a 4-1 win over Eastern Washington, Idaho gave up just two on Friday. The lone hiccup came with one minute remaining, when USD's Katie Quinones slipped past the defense and beat keeper Liz Boyden to the loose ball.
"I'm over the moon that we won the game," Showler said. "It's just sad that it took the edge off the win a little bit with that late goal. You can't switch off against any team, and if you do, you'll get punished."
Overall, Idaho held a 33-5 margin in shots and an 11-2 margin in shots on goal. Idaho earned 12 corner kicks and didn't surrender one. Idaho was also whistled for offsides 10 times, while USD had none. The Vandals, which average the fewest fouls per game in the Western Athletic Conference, had just two on Friday, while USD had nine.
"There were a lot of people working for each other and working off the ball, and that's creating opportunities for us," Showler said. "The result is, we're getting lots more people involved with shooting opportunities and lots more people in the final third. That comes down to hard work, movement and communication."
Boyden played all 90 minutes in goal and earned one save and one allowed one goal. She is now 5-4 for the year.
Small, the WAC's leader in shots per game, fired off 10 more, while Morrison and senior Ashley Perez had five each and freshman Erica Hart notched four. Perez had a first-half shot deflect off the left post, while junior Jenn Hull had one of her two shots bounce off the crossbar.
Idaho will close out the non-conference slate on Sunday with a home game against Weber State, which lost at Washington State 4-0 on Friday. The game will be played at Guy Wicks Field and will kick off at 11 a.m.
"Weber is a very strong team," Showler said. "They work hard, they bring pressure, and we know that we're going to have to bring our 'A' game to win that."
